Arrest spree in Tamil Nadu continues as NIA looks to bust ISIS module

New Delhi, July 15: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 14 persons from different parts of Tamil Nadu in connection with an Islamic State related case.

The suspects will be taken to New Delhi for questioning. The NIA has been probing this case for over a month now and has found that the ISIS through its feeder outfits has propagated the ISIS ideology in the state.

Earlier the NIA arrested two persons, who were part of a module that was propagating on behalf of the Islamic State in Tamil Nadu. Hassan Ali and Harish Mohammad, residents of Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu were arrested by the NIA.

It may be recalled that the NIA busted a gang which conspired to establish Islamic rule in the country. The NIA conducted searches in Chennai and Nagapattinam in connection with the Islamic State case.

The NIA searched the office and house of What-e-Islam Tamil Nadu leader, Syed Mohammad Bukhari. It may be recalled that in raids conducted last month, the agency had arrested six persons.

During the raids, the NIA had seized incriminating documents and learnt that they were propagating on behalf of the Islamic State. Further, it was also found that these persons were propagating the ISIS ideology on the social media and were also aiming at recruiting youth in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The accused persons, while being within and beyond India, had conspired and conducted consequent preparations to wage war against the Government of India by forming the terrorist gang Ansarulla. It has also been learnt that the accused persons and their associates had collected funds and made preparations to carry out terrorist attacks in India, with the intention of establishing Islamic rule in India.

During searches, 9 mobiles, 15 SIM cards, 7 memory cards, 3 laptops, 5 hard discs, 6 pen drives, 2 tablets and 3 CDs/ DVDs besides documents including magazines, banners, notices, posters and books have been seized by NIA.